The competition, sponsored by Brandermill – Midlothian – Woodlake (BMW), Bon Air – Manchester – Midlothian (BAMM) and Richmond James River Lions Clubs, was held on March 22nd, 2015 at Brandermill Community Church. First Place winners were Laya Koder (vocal) and Lora You (instrumental). They will compete at the District 24-B level on April 18th at the Farmville United Methodist Church. The Program and photos from the competition are shown below.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________BAMM Lions Annual Peanut Sales FundraiserBAMM Lions Club concluded its annual holiday peanut sale fundraiser at the Kroger Supermarket in Midlothian on 20 December. Lion Phil Coffey and club members did an outstanding job and sales were brisk. Thanks to all the hard work, we exceeded sales goals, and Lion Morris Sutton was awarded the "Mr.Peanut" award for highest sales at the 19 February regular meeting.

100% of funds raised by BAMM Lions go to support the club's service to the local community, which includes collecting and recycling eyeglasses and hearing aids; providing vision and hearing tests for those in need; supporting the Leader Dog School, Virginia Voice, Richmond Blind Bowling League, Virginia Rehab Center for the Blind, American Diabetes Association, SightFirst program, Prevent Blindness Virginia, Bainbridge Community Ministry; contributing to disaster assistance; and participating in the Adopt-A-Highway program.

Lion Lee Winder gave an inspirational presentation on Leader Dogs for the Blind at the regular meeting. Since its inception in 1939, the program has trained more than 14,500 guide dogs and has a budget of approximately $14M/year. Leader Dogs for the Blind is innovative, inclusive and dedicated to providing high-quality services to clients in a respectful and empowering environment. The program is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that relies entirely on donations from individuals, foundations, corporations and service groups such as Lions Clubs in order to provide all programs free to clients. For more information, go to: www.leaderdog.org

_____________________________________________________________________Mr. Tom Tokarz, World War II Roundtable - Guest Speaker on 19 February BAMM Lions were honored to have Mr. Tom Tokarz of the WW II Roundtable as guest speaker. Mr. Tokarz s provided a moving discussion on U.S. Air Force operations in the European and Pacific theaters during WW II.Tom founded the World War Round Table of Central Virginia 4 years ago. Interviews of a WW2 vet are done at each monthly meeting, creating a DVD for the family of the vet.For more information, go to:http://www.ww2rtcva.com

BAMM Lions Club held its 81st Charter Night on 19 June 2014 at the Doubletree Hotel. The turnout was excellent and the fellowship was outstanding. We were most fortunate to have humorist and writer Chuck Hansen as guest speaker. Chuck is a motivational speaker, humorist, and author of several books. For the past seven years, he has also written an award-winning humor column for the Chesterfield Observer, and his writing has appeared in a number of regional and national publications. His remarks were hugely enjoyed by everyone.

BAMM Lions incoming officers, trustees and committee chairs were inducted by guest Lion Jay Overbey, and the BAMM Lion of the Year award was presented to Lion Fred Tyler for his outstanding service. Photos from Charter Night are below.

Meetings

BAMM Lions Club meets the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month at the Hilton-Doubletree Hotel located at 1021 Koger Center Blvd. in Richmond, VA. Call Lion Mark Bebar at 804.379.5093 for details.

The Bon Air – Manchester – Midlothian (BAMM) Lions Club is a service organization and a local chapter of the Lions Clubs International. We are best known for working to prevent blindness, but overall our efforts are about serving and helping the community. Our motto is 'WeServe'.

The BAMM Lions Club meets on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month and is a 100%volunteer organization with 100%of the donations going to help the community.Each year the BAMM Lions Club collects over 1,500 pairs of eyeglasses, raises more than $20,000, and collects three to five hearing aids.

Our chapter is one of nearly 45,000 Lions Clubs in the world, with a total membership of more than 1.3 million Lions worldwide. Started in 1917 by Melvin Jones, a Chicago business leader, he told members of his local business club they should reach beyond financial business issues and address helping communities. That year the group took the name of the Association of Lions Clubs and a constitution, by-laws, and a code of ethics were developed. Within three years, Lions became an international organization.

But, it was in 1925 when Helen Keller addressed the Lions Convention that the Lions Club focus became preventing blindness. She challenged the Lions to become the “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.” The Lions accepted that challenge. Since then the focus has been on assisting the blind, sight-impaired, and hearing impaired.